'We are speaking about trillions of carats': Russia reveals vast diamond source under 62-MILE-WIDE asteroid crater which could supply world markets for next 3,000 years

Russia is about to start tapping into a huge source of diamonds that could supply the world market for the next 3,000 years.

Scientists estimate there are 'trillions of carats' lying beneath a 35million-year-old asteroid crater in Siberia - more than ten times the global stockpile.
The Kremlin has known about the reserves under the 62-mile-wide impact zone since the 1970s.

But it has kept it a secret until now because it was already reaping big profits in what back then was a heavily controlled market.

The Soviets had also been producing various artificial diamonds for industry which proved a lucrative enterprise.

Government officials finally gave scientists from the nearby Novosibirsk Institute of Geology and Mineralogy permission to lift the lid on the crater's hidden gems in a meeting with journalists over the weekend.

The official news agency, ITAR-Tass, said the diamonds at the site, known as Popigai Astroblem, are 'twice as hard' as the usual gemstones, making them ideal for industrial and scientific uses.

According to The Christian Science Monitor, the institute's director, Nikolai Pokhilenko, told the agency that the new source would cause a radical shake-up in the precious stones market.

'The resources of super-hard diamonds contained in rocks of the Popigai crypto-explosion structure are by a factor of ten bigger than the world's all known reserves,' he said.

'We are speaking about trillions of carats. By comparison, present-day known reserves in Yakutia (a Russian mine) are estimated at one billion carats.'
The stones at Popigai are known as 'impact diamonds' which result when an object like a meteor strikes an existing diamond deposit.

They are also unique, which will make them even more sought-after in high-precision scientific and industrial markets.

Pokhilenko said: 'The value of impact diamonds is added by their unusual abrasive features and large grain size.

'This expands significantly the scope of their industrial use and makes them more valuable for industrial purposes.'

Diamond production was booming in Russia in 2007 when output reached $1.35billion, 98 per cent of which was exported to Belgium, Israel, South-east Asia and the USA.

But the bottom fell out in 2009 when polished diamond production fell to an unprecedented low of US$350 million during the economic crisis.
With world markets starting to show signs of resilience, this may explain why Russia has chosen now to reveal its hidden treasure.

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What a racket.

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I got my wife an engagement ring that cost 2 euros. We were on the beach in Italy, and this dude was making jewelry. So I gave him a couple coins, bought the ring, and proposed.

Any woman who needs you to spend $5,000 on a piece of shit rock isn't worth marrying. I'm not saying that any girl who wants a diamond ring isn't worth it, but if it's a deal breaker for her, then that should be a deal breaker for you.

I have argued soooo much with my friends about this, but why the **** would you give one of the worst companies on earth any more money? What does it prove? You love her so much you'll spend money on nothing? How about donating $5,000 to cancer research in her name? Oh, I'm sorry... she can't trot that around at happy hour?

How about spending that money on furniture for your house? Because guess what? Nothing says "I plan on spending all of my time with you" like a giant comfy couch and 50 inch plasma. Your man ain't goin NOWHERE, honey.

But no... let's give some more money to a company that is only thinly differentiated from slavery to honor a "tradition" that is only decades old, and created by that same company.

Kotter: "You are lucky I'm truly not the vindictive or psycho type...I'd be careful from now on, and I'd just back the hell off if I were you....otherwise, the Mizzou "extension office" life might get exciting"

I got my wife an engagement ring that cost 2 euros. We were on the beach in Italy, and this dude was making jewelry. So I gave him a couple coins, bought the ring, and proposed.

Any woman who needs you to spend $5,000 on a piece of shit rock isn't worth marrying. I'm not saying that any girl who wants a diamond ring isn't worth it, but if it's a deal breaker for her, then that should be a deal breaker for you.

I have argued soooo much with my friends about this, but why the **** would you give one of the worst companies on earth any more money? What does it prove? You love her so much you'll spend money on nothing? How about donating $5,000 to cancer research in her name? Oh, I'm sorry... she can't trot that around at happy hour?

How about spending that money on furniture for your house? Because guess what? Nothing says "I plan on spending all of my time with you" like a giant comfy couch and 50 inch plasma. Your man ain't goin NOWHERE, honey.

But no... let's give some more money to a company that is only thinly differentiated from slavery to honor a "tradition" that is only decades old, and created by that same company.

I got my wife an engagement ring that cost 2 euros. We were on the beach in Italy, and this dude was making jewelry. So I gave him a couple coins, bought the ring, and proposed.

Any woman who needs you to spend $5,000 on a piece of shit rock isn't worth marrying. I'm not saying that any girl who wants a diamond ring isn't worth it, but if it's a deal breaker for her, then that should be a deal breaker for you.

I have argued soooo much with my friends about this, but why the **** would you give one of the worst companies on earth any more money? What does it prove? You love her so much you'll spend money on nothing? How about donating $5,000 to cancer research in her name? Oh, I'm sorry... she can't trot that around at happy hour?

How about spending that money on furniture for your house? Because guess what? Nothing says "I plan on spending all of my time with you" like a giant comfy couch and 50 inch plasma. Your man ain't goin NOWHERE, honey.

But no... let's give some more money to a company that is only thinly differentiated from slavery to honor a "tradition" that is only decades old, and created by that same company.